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Document Apostille for South Africa

South Africa is a member of the Hague Nation and Apostille is enough to prove that the Document is Genuine

South Africa joined the Hague Apostille convention which abolished the requirement of legalization of foreign documents on 31 March 1979. Thus Indians traveling to South Africa should get an apostille stamp from the MEA to legalize their document. 

South Africa Hague Apostille

Hague Apostille Convention is a conference of private international law conducted on 5 October 1961. The countries who join the convention agree to accept the apostille on documents as the legalization method of foreign documents. 

Since South Africa is a member of Hague convention apostille is accepted as authentication method for Indian issued documents in South Africa.

4 Simple steps to get MEA Apostille on your Documents 

  1. Register on Apostille Portal 
  2. Collect all  Documents you want to Apostille 
  3. Submit the Original / Photocopies of documents
  4. Receive Documents with Apostille Directly to your home
Apply for MEA Apostille

What is the Apostille for South Africa?

Apostille/ apostil is a certification issued by the Ministry of External Affairs to validate a document issued in India for use in South Africa. This certificate is issued after multiple verification and attestation processes.

As per the conditions of Hague apostille convention, apostille is  the method used for checking the authenticity, validity and originality of public documents. Thus, an Indian issued document with apostille is accepted as a legal document in South Africa.

When Do You Need a MEA Apostille for South Africa?

If you want any document issued by any authorities in India to be submitted in South Africa, you need to get an apostille stamp from the Ministry of External Affairs, India. The purpose can be personal, business or legal. Listed below are the major reasons why you need to get an apostille: 

  • To receive a work visa for South Africa.
  • To receive a study visa for South Africa
  • Commercial purposes such as starting a business or expanding a business.
  • To get a dependent visa in South Africa.
  • To apply for OCI card in India (For South African Citizen of Indian Origin) 
  • To receive Permanent residency in South Africa.

 

List of Documents that Need Apostillation for South Africa

Following are the documents that need to apostilled for South Africa based on the purpose of your visit to South Africa:

Apostille Documents for Working Visa

List of Documents that Require Apostille To Start Business / Sell a Product in South Africa for Indians

List of apostille documents for dependent visa

 

How to Get an Apostille for South Africa in India

Apostille attestation services in India have two different methods to obtain an apostille stamp from the Ministry of external affairs. They are:

Let us explore each method in detail.

State Attestation Method for Apostille

State attestation method is usually used for certificates issued by the state government or any other authorities under the state government. 

The authorities involved in the state attestation method for various documents

  • State Home Departments for personal documents such as birth certificates.
  • State Human resource department for educational certificate attestation.
  • State Chamber of Commerce for commercial documents
  • Authorized outsourcing agency
  • Ministry of External Affairs.

Process of State Attestation Method

In this method, at first  the secretary of the district where the document was issued verifies the authenticity of the certificate. Then the state home department verifies and attests the document. At the final stage the MEA verifies and affixes the apostille stamp on the document.

In case of an educational certificate the verification starts from the issued university followed by the HRD ministry of the state. Since there are multiple departments involved in this method of apostille, it may take up to 30 days to finish the process.

SDM Attestation Method

SDM attestation is a faster method which can be finished within six to seven days. The following are the steps involved in the apostille attestation with SDM attestation Method:

  1. Notary Attestation: Attestation by a public notary is the first step of the SDM method. The notary verifies your document and attests the document in this step.
  2. SDM Attestation: In this method Sub Divisional Magistrate verifies and attest the document for its authenticity and originality.
  3. MEA Apostille: Final step in this process is the verification and pasting of the apostille stamp on the document.

The SDM method is a court process which does not involve many government departments. Thus, a faster and easier method to receive an apostille is the SDM method.

 

Validity of Apostille for South Africa

Generally the validity of apostille is for six months. However, in some cases South Africa may accept an apostilled document older than six months. You should check the same with the employer if you are traveling on a work visa.

Apostille for South Africa: Price Details

The pricing to get an apostille stamp on your document may vary according to the type of documents and number of documents. Similarly, you can choose methods of receiving an apostille based on your urgency. The faster process may be slightly costlier than the slower one. You can contact a trustworthy apostille service provider to learn more about the details.

Fill the Apostille Application Form to learn more about your apostille application process, price and time period. 

 

An Apostille contains following details in it:

  • Name of country from which the document was issued.
  • Name of the Person to whom document is issued.
  • Name of person signing the document.
  • Designation of the singed person.
  • Place of certification date of certification.
  • Number of certificate.
  • Seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate.
  • Signature of authority issuing certificate.

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. South Africa has been a member of Hague Apostille convention since 31 March 1979. Hence, an Indian citizen traveling to South Africa for various purposes needs to get an apostille stamp from the Ministry of external affairs to legalize their document.

  • Personal Documents
  • Educational Documents
  • Legal Documents
  • Commercial Documents

Apostille Attestation is Legalization of your documents from Ministry of External Affairs in India. Apostille can be given for the documents issued in India by any authority or issued by any Indian authorities outside the country like Embassy / Consulate. Apostille from MEA can be used in any particular country apart from India.

Check out this article  more details on what is apostille .

Apostille and Attestation are similar words. But Apostille will be given from the Ministry of External Affairs in India. Attestation has a broader meaning. Attestation from MEA is called Apostille. Attestation can be given by State Government or Embassy.

For Educational documents attestation from state government is called HRD attestation.

For Non Educational documents such as Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Affidavits state attestation is called home department attestation.

Attestation for any documents from Indian Embassy is called Embassy Attestation.

Read here for further details on how to get apostille.

If you need to submit a police clearance certificate as part of your visa process or any other purpose in South Africa, you need to get an apostille for it.